Medical Room

After the intake process, patients are escorted to a medical waiting area where they will await orthopedic illness evaluation. The majority of our patients suffer from orthopedic illnesses due to malnutrition and hard labor. Many of these patients are farmers, fisherman and laborers who work long days, lift heavy materials, spend a great deal of time bending over and carrying goods to sell to support their family. They present to us with years of pain and suffering, yet with no good medical care to seek for a cure. Lumbar bone spurs, sciatica, cervical compressions, osteoarthritis etc... are a just few of the common disease we see on a daily basis. By a thorough physical exam, along with x-rays for some patients, our team assists Bac Si Ha with the diagnosis, treatment and prescribing of medications. In addition, our team provides intramuscular injections of B-12 and corticosteroids. Proper training and safety is required to effectively provide these injections under direct supervision.

Patients still well and still sweet as ever

I first met this mother and daughter in 2016. At that time the mother was 94 years old and the daughter was 61 years old. The arrived for treatment then, and could not have been more pleased with the results and touched by our compassion and kindness. Post-treatment, the daughter hops on a bicycle and places the mother on the back seat and they travel away from clinic down a busy city intersection. Every year I think about this family and wonder and hope they will once again arrive at clinic for treatment, or just to say hello and wish us well. I was touched this year when they arrived today, still well and still as sweet as ever. Currently 97 and 64 years old respectively, they sought treatment today. They describe sub-optimal medical care throughout the year and insist that the treatment our team provides makes the most difference in their lives. They are patient, kind, strong, and brave. They always depart us with smiles and well-wishes for the health and safety of our team and to wish us good fortune throughout the year. I will pray for them and await the opportunity to see them in a few months.

Infection follow-up

Recall our unexpected hand infection from a few days ago. Today the patient returned for a follow-up evaluation and described his symptoms as 75% improved with significantly less pain , swelling and inflammation. Our initial draining, cleansing, and antibiotic regimen appears to be working well. He will continue to take the prescribed course of medications and return one more time for a final evaluation.

Highest honor bestowed on a foreign organization

Since 2012 we have been extremely fortunate to be partners with our colleagues from Mercer University School of Biomedical Engineering. We are privileged to work together to serve the poor and needy patient in Vietnam. Today the Prime Minister of Vietnam bestowed the highest recognition allowed to a foreign organization to our mission team for years of service and dedication to the poor people of Vietnam. What started in 2009 with 700 orthopedic patients and 37 prosthetic limbs fit, compared to 2017 when we treated 2550 orthopedic patients and over 700 prosthetic patients fit. The patients need and appreciate all we do and so does the Association of the Poor and the Government. It is amazing what a solid and well-built collaboration between Temple University School of Pharmacy and Mercer University can accomplish when we work so closely together as ONE TEAM.

Unexpected infection

Just when you think the 11 hour work day at clinic has ended, a patient who had a prosthetic limb fit this day required the evaluation of a swollen, inflamed hand. After further evaluation, Bac Si Ha determined that this patient has an infection for the past 3-4 days, requiring drainage and a course of antibiotics. We prepare the clinic for a wound drain, clean wrap, and prescribe a course of antibiotics. This patient will require multiple follow-ups over the next few days to assess the efficacy of our treatment to make sure the infection has started to heal properly.

Intake station

After arriving at the clinic and taking some time to set up all the needed materials, the team begins the patient intake process. Many times this is the most important and rate limiting step of the daily activities. Without proper organization and accurate patient intake, few things can be done thereafter. Fluent Vietnamese speaking students are paired with non-vietnamese speakers to intake each patient. As the patient interview begins, the detailed description of the chief complaint, past medical history, any current medications, surgeries etc....While this is taking place, each patient has an accurate measure of their blood pressure, pulse, and if needed, a blood glucose value. This process is critical to the success of our medical treatment station and has to take place for close to 150 patients each day. Our team has been well trained in the School of Pharmacy to execute this at a high level.

Ben Tre Clinic

We arrive in Ben Tre clinic at 7:00 am every morning to a approximately 80 patients. Some of these patient travel many kilometers by foot or moped from surrounding provinces like Hau Giang, Can Tho, Vinh Long, etc in search of any type of medical care they can receive. Some have never seen a doctor before or taken a medication and suffer from illnesses undiagnosed. Our clinic primarily focuses on orthopedic illnesses and pain, along with the fitting of prosthetic limbs for amputees. These patients have been invited to our clinic through invitation from the Association of the Poor of Ben Tre province. On a daily basis in the first few days of clinic we treat approximately 120-150 patients. Our team utilizes months and years of pharmacy education and mission training in order to provide the best quality healthcare possible in this country.